Phone: 708-209-4078
Email: registrar@cuchicago.edu
Location: Addison 155
Website: https://www.cuchicago.edu/academics/academic-resources/registrar/
Registrar FAQ: https://www.cuchicago.edu/academics/academic-resources/registrar/registrar---general-faq/

The Office of the Registrar supports the core functions of the University's academic division including course registration, student academic records, course schedules, academic catalogs, transcripts, licensure, student directory information and more.

Attendance Policy

Students are expected to attend all classes as part of the learning process, both in face-to-face and online courses. As a University student, each individual must develop a sense of personal responsibility. CUC defines class attendance as follows:

In face-to-face courses and university assigned study groups (e.g., recitations), documented physical presence in class meetings. 

In an online course, documenting that a student has logged into an online class is not sufficient to demonstrate academic attendance by the student. According to the U.S. Department of Education, a school must demonstrate that a student participated in class or was otherwise engaged in an academically related activity. Examples of acceptable evidence of academic attendance and attendance at an academically related activity in a distance education course/program include:

• student submission of an academic assignment, 
• student submission of an exam, 
• documented student participation in an interactive tutorial or computer-assisted instruction, 
• a posting by the student showing the student’s participation in an online study group that is assigned by the institution,
• a posting by the student in a discussion forum showing the student’s participation in an online discussion about academic matters, and
• an email from the student or other documentation showing that the student initiated contact with a faculty member to ask a question about the academic subject studied in the course. 

Students can expect faculty members to have a clear attendance policy in each course syllabus and/or the policy section of Blackboard that conforms with the university class attendance policy. Students are expected to be aware of the attendance policy in each course for which they are enrolled.

Students may not receive credit on individual assignments or assessments, and may receive a reduced/failing course grade if they do not observe attendance requirements set for their classes. 

The university expectation is that students will not miss more than 25% of class attendance whether authorized or unauthorized. Some programs or faculty members may have different expectations; students are expected to be aware of any variations from this expectation. For information on requesting an incomplete, students should review the Incomplete Policy. For information on requesting to drop or withdraw from a course, students should review the pertinent section in their Academic Catalog and speak with their advisor.  If a student needs to request a drop or withdrawal after the deadline, they should use the Dean of Students Appeal Form.   

Also note the Administrative Drop and Administrative Withdrawal policies in the Academic Information - Registration Policies and Procedures section of this catalog.

Authorized Absences from Class 

A student representing the university at university-sponsored events is granted authorized absences from class provided that the student is in good academic standing and has complied with approved procedures. See the Student-Athlete Class Attendance Policy  for absences due to participation in athletics. Faculty members will receive email notifications regarding authorized student absences via Navigate.

When leading/hosting a university-sponsored event where students will be absent, faculty members should notify the Office of the Dean of Students so that it can send out notifications to the CUC community.  

In compliance with Title IX, absences due to pregnancy, recovery, or related conditions must be authorized if the student’s physician deems the absence medically necessary. Regarding all absences tied to pregnancy, recovery or related conditions, students should email TitleIX@CUChicago.edu with documentation included for any such absence. The Office of the Dean of Students will review request and documentation and notify faculty members if absences are authorized. Faculty members are expected to assist pregnant and parenting students (female and male) by providing them with options, such as extended deadlines, make-up assignments or alternate learning activities.  

At the discretion of a faculty member, at times in consultation with the Office of the Dean of Students and in line with a program’s requirements, absences due to medical and mental health issues, personal crises, military orders, or contractual obligations may be authorized.  Students should complete the following form to notify the Office of the Dean of Students with documentation included for any such absence. 

An authorized absence does not excuse a student from course material, assignments or exams. It is ultimately up to each faculty member to decide what, if any, accommodation can be provided for an authorized absence. It is the student's responsibility to initiate a request for an accommodation with the faculty member. It is also a student’s primary responsibility to schedule courses to minimize potential class absences.

Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Policy and Annual Notice to Students

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), as amended, is a federal law that protects the privacy of student Educational Records maintained by the University.  FERPA and its accompanying regulations require confidentiality unless the records are directory information or an exception for disclosure applies.

View the full provisions of our policy here.

Licensure

After you have recently completed a program leading to Illinois licensure, Concordia-Chicago's Licensure Officer will contact you once your licensure has been processed on your Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) account. The Licensure Officer can also assist with other licensure-related questions and out-of-state licensure processing. Contact the Office of the Registrar or licensure@CUChicago.edu for more information.

Official Transcript and Received Document Policies

All official transcript requests are processed by the National Student Clearinghouse. The transcript can be sent electronically by email or in a paper format by USPS mail. If a student selects the paper format and would like to pick it up on campus, please contact the Office of the Registrar as soon as the order is placed at registrar@cuchicago.edu.

Paper Transcript(s): An official transcript is usually printed on special watermarked paper. It includes the registrar’s signature and/or the institution’s seal, and should arrive packaged in a sealed envelope from the institution. Paper transcript(s) delivered to Concordia University Chicago by hand or mail will be accepted as long as the envelope containing the transcript(s) remains sealed. If the envelope has been opened, tampered with, damaged, or compromised in any way the transcript(s) will be considered unofficial.

E-transcript(s) (electronic): An e-transcript is official when sent directly to Concordia University Chicago from the originating institution. E-transcript(s) forwarded to Concordia University Chicago from the applicant/student, whether it be the PDF of the document(s) or a link to the download service, will be considered unofficial.

All administrative obligations to CUC must be cleared in order to prompt the release of CUC transcripts and diploma(s). Students who graduated prior to June 2023 should contact the Office of the Registrar at Registrar@cuchicago.edu if they have not received their transcripts and/or diploma(s).

Received Documents: The Office of the Registrar does not release received documents such as transcripts, test scores, etc., that have become the property of Concordia University Chicago. Since Concordia-Chicago is not the official, legal custodian of record for any documents that did not originate at the institution, the office does not have the appropriate authority to release them. Therefore, please contact the originating institution or organization that produced the original records in order to obtain such documents.

Verification (Enrollment, Degree and more)

Concordia University Chicago has authorized the National Student Clearinghouse to provide enrollment and degree verifications on its behalf.

Verification: The Office of the Registrar provides students with verification of their enrollment status (full- or part-time), dates of attendance, anticipated date of graduation, and program of study. Students seeking verification can download their certified enrollment report through their MyHub account (which they can access through their student portal), provide the Office of the Registrar with a form from a third party or they can request a letter by completing the Enrollment Verification form and submitting it to the Office of the Registrar at registrar@cuchicago.edu. The Office of the Registrar can only verify previous and current semesters. Requests for the current semester verifications cannot be completed until after the last date to drop a class for the current term the student is enrolled in. Please refer to the Academic Calendar for exact drop deadlines.

Degree Verification: Students may request degree verification in one of two ways:

• Online: www.degreeverify.org
• By Mail:
  National Student Clearinghouse
  2300 Dulles Station Boulevard, Suite 300
  Herndon, VA 20171

Verification of Student Identity Policy

To uphold internal expectations and to ensure external compliance Concordia University Chicago (CUC) verifies its students’ identity via the following:
 

• Issuing a secure login and password to accepted students.

• Utilizing integrated technologies and best practices.

CUC issues a secure login and password to students upon acceptance, which allows them access to Concordia IT systems. As part of the application process a student acknowledges and verifies that the information they submitted to CUC is accurate and correct. Therefore, upon acceptance an email is sent to the email address the student supplied as part of the application process, including their unique username and password. The language of the email recommends that the student change their password immediately for security purposes and additionally, the university’s password manager allows students to change their password at any time following best practices (a minimum of 15 characters, a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols/special characters). Furthermore, CUC requires that students change their password at least once a year.

CUC’s student information system (Banner) contains data directly uploaded from the student’s application and other submitted documentation. Therefore, student’s privileged information (such as academic, billing, the learning management system, and more) cannot be accessed without the university-issued login credentials.

CUC’s learning management system (Blackboard) uploads information directly from the student information system (Banner) so course registrations (adding and dropping classes) and rosters are automatically pulled hourly. Since the source of the data is Banner, students are not able to create or alter course subjects, numbers, reference numbers (CRNs), titles, grades, and details in Blackboard. Furthermore, students can only access Blackboard with university-issued login credentials so this ensures that only students may access the online classroom based on their submitted registration.

CUC offers resources and support to registered students. Some examples of academic support include CULearn (peer tutoring, mentoring, and more), accessibility and accommodations, math support (only undergraduate), writing support, email, and more. Since the source of the data is Banner, student data is automatically populated into Navigate and/or Gmail based on the student’s original submission. Additionally, in order to schedule an appointment to access these services or send an email to campus personnel and/or students, a student must use their university-issued login credentials, which help affirm a student’s identity.

CUC expects the login credentials provided to an individual is for the individual's exclusive use only via the Information Technology Resources Policy. It is a violation of this policy for an individual to provide his or her password to anyone or to allow others to use his or her login credentials to access the student account (Banner, Blackboard, and more). Accessing an account other than by way of the individual's university-issued login credentials or attempting to discover and/or impersonate an individual is prohibited and in violation of CUC’s Student Code of Conduct and Honor Code, which may result in disciplinary action. Any questions about this policy can be directed to the Office of the Dean of Students at DOS@CUChicago.edu or at 708-209-3498